An Overpromise?

Hi friend,

In beans they trust. It’s salvation in a can. A solution for what ails you — anxiety, depression, hormonal imbalances, weight gain, dull skin. Eat the beans, they say, and you will be cured.

We’re talking about the women vociferously embracing beans online. They’re part of a larger fiber-forward movement (dubbed “fibermaxxing,” ugh). Turns out that years of protein pushing has left lots of Americans backed up, and the humble bean — blazing gloriously through our intestinal tracts, downward, always downward! — is all of a sudden a revelation.

This is both news and not. Beans are and have been an integral part of many peoples’ diets. They are also a pillar of MIND (aka Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay), an eating program developed to help slow cognitive decline. It emphasizes 10 “brain healthy” foods such as green leafy vegetables (and other vegetables), nuts, berries (over other fruits), beans, whole grains, seafood, poultry, and olive oil) and demonizes red meat, butter, cheese, fried foods, sweets, and fast food.

However, not everyone is Team Bean. Certified beanos noticed yesterday, when HHS released its updated food pyramid, that beans were not mentioned nor pictured. (RFK Jr.’s TikTok algo must not be surfacing BeanTok videos. It’s probably dominated by falconry, or tallow.)

“We are ending the war on protein,” writes…someone in the government? “Every meal must prioritize high-quality, nutrient-dense protein from both animal and plant sources, paired with healthy fats from whole foods such as eggs, seafood, meats, full-fat dairy, nuts, seeds, olives, and avocados.”

Honestly: Where are the beans? Not to critique this surprisingly sexy government website, but the war on protein already ended, and protein won. We all know about protein. Beans, always there, quiet and unassuming, are the new (old) hot stuff. 

Bye,
Your friends at Gloria

Eat two cups of beans every day for 30 days. That's the basic challenge, and it's supposed to make you feel really, really good. Any kind of beans will do, and you can eat them at any time of day. You can eat other food, as you normally would, and it's fine if you start out with less than two cups and build up your tolerance. This is BeanTok, a bean-focused wellness challenge on TikTok.

BeanTokers often choose to eat all their beans at breakfast to 1) get it out of the way and 2) reap the benefits of all that fiber early, because it helps them feel full longer. BeanTok, as far as I can tell, is an almost exclusively female phenomenon. Women rave about the effects of beans and how they help mitigate perimenopause and menopause symptoms. I’ve been following more than 30 bean journeys, and the most common benefit I’ve heard is an increase in energy. Other claimed perks are less anxiety, decreased inflammation, and improved ability to focus – but I’ve also seen testimonials about glowing skin, improved sleep, better periods, fewer cravings, and even reduced neck pain. These self-reported results are difficult to measure. On the flip side, the worst complaint I’ve seen involves bloating (predictable).

Legumes are nutritious and delicious, full of fiber and protein, shelf-stable, and inexpensive. The more outlandish claims about their benefits come off as comical, unless you view them in the larger context of health and wellness misinformation online. So some women are mega-dosing on beans. Is there any harm there? 

BeanTok's Roots

Most newly converted bean eaters seem primarily interested in increasing their fiber intake. That's all. Legumes are high in soluble fiber, which, according to Harvard Health, "slows digestion and makes you feel full after eating." It helps you poop, too. Getting adequate fiber supports the immune system through the gut microbiome and protects against inflammation. A high-fiber diet lowers LDL (bad) cholesterol and, in studies, "is linked with lower incidences of cardiovascular disease, cancer, and diabetes."

Most Americans don't get nearly enough of the recommended 14 grams of fiber for every 1,000 calories. If you eat 2,000 calories a day, that's 28 grams of fiber. BeanTok likes to round up to 30 grams as the typical daily goal. At this point, I have to mention the obvious: Despite their newfound enthusiasm, BeanTok didn’t “invent” eating beans. Many people have a traditional diet that's rich in legumes, typically paired with rice, corn, or bread because that makes beans a complete protein source.

How much is 30 grams? Every bean has a different nutritional profile, but using cooked black beans as an example, one cup contains about 15 grams of fiber. Eat two cups per day, and you're at 30 grams without even trying.

"You're Doing It Wrong"

A smaller number of bean devotees believe legumes have healing powers beyond the scientifically proven benefits of soluble fiber, like removing unnamed, mysterious "toxins" from healthy bodies with perfectly functioning livers and gallbladders. These crusaders have a message for the rest of the BeanTok: "You're doing it wrong," because "actually" if you want to get the "optimal" benefits of beans, you must follow additional steps.

Are you rinsing your canned beans? Are you isolating your bean intake from fats by at least 90 minutes? Are you eating them in small amounts throughout the day, drinking a gallon of warm water, quitting sugar, and giving up caffeine? If not, you're not getting the full bean experience. Or so they say.

Among these believers, one name comes up again and again: Karen Hurd.

The Bean Queen Has Entered the Chat

Some years ago, Hurd invented the bean protocol, a set of instructions about what to eat, what not to eat, as well as when and how. The backstory, as she told it to me, is that her 18-month-old child was accidentally poisoned with an insecticide in December 1989. Doctors didn't offer much hope, and the prognosis seemed fatal. Hurd went to a nearby medical library, began researching toxins and the function of the liver, and theorized that feeding her daughter a very high amount of soluble fiber might help draw out the poison. By March of 1990, her toddler had improved substantially, and she's still alive today. (It's impossible to know what role soluble fiber had in the child's recovery; running a controlled human experiment on poisoned children to test this would obviously be unethical.)

You can listen to the full story in Hurd's own words on this podcast, starting at the 20:00 mark. It's very similar to the version she told me.

Word spread about a woman who had saved her child's life when doctors couldn't, and people began reaching out for personalized health advice, private speaking engagements, and even asking Hurd to teach. She needed more than a BA in Spanish to do this kind of work, so she studied nutrition and got advanced degrees in biochemistry and public health. 

From all this, the bean protocol was born.

Today, Hurd sells 18 online health courses, most of which cost $275, though none are called The Bean Protocol. Instead, their titles target specific ailments, for example, Alleviating Autoimmune and Inflammatory Disorders ($275) or The Ten Brothers: Heal Crohn's Disease, UC, & more ($335). You can add on a 30-minute private consultation for $90.

If you search for a book or web page called The Bean Protocol, you won't find one, not written by Karen Hurd anyway. Others have summarized it, reported on, put it in their own words. I believe the protocol is outlined somewhere in Hurd's 2007 self-published book And They Said It Wasn't Possible: True Stories Of People Who Were Healed From The Impossible. A Hurd-following BeanToker has read excerpts from it and attempted to summarize the science, which is admittedly complex and essentially explains how bile works.

Criticisms of the Bean Protocol

In 2021, Abby Langer, a dietician who's prominent on social media, published a criticism of the bean protocol on her website. She wrote, "To the layperson, this sort of thing gets confusing when the person giving the claims uses science-y language and a kernel of truth. It gets even more compelling when, like Karen Hurd, they use an emotional or personal story to build those claims up." I reached out to Langer for comment, but she didn't get back to me by my deadline. 

Langer's critique applies to other health and wellness advice, not just bean eating. "Telling people that they can become 'toxic' if they don’t go on X diet or plan is a very obvious scare tactic. I can assure you that if you're 'toxic,' you'll be in the ICU," she wrote. "Fostering distrust in our bodies — it's part of the marketing."

To Hurd's credit, she said that the people she helps are typically at their wit's end. They've been diagnosed with a problem and haven't had success with treatments, or they sought medical care and could not be diagnosed. Our understanding of how gut health impacts mental or physical health is also still in its infancy, though there are promising signals. As this Vox piece points out, “Researchers have not only found a connection between the gut microbiome and mental health, but also connections between deficiencies in certain micronutrients, including magnesium or choline, and conditions like anxiety and depression.” Turns out that beans are a good source of magnesium and choline – though you can also get those nutrients from foods like dark green leafy vegetables and eggs. 

What About Perimenopause and Menopause Symptoms?

It’s easy to feel flat at this point of the winter. We’re getting less sunlight, our skin looks tired, and we feel low-energy and dry. We’re brightening things up with a few easy daily additions to our routine, like this tanning lotion that works to build glow over time (plus a few drops of self tanner mixed into moisturizer for our face), an LED mask on major sale, and this caffeine polish plus an exfoliating minty soap to perk us up in the shower. #partner

TO WATCH This weekend, do you want to learn about the Portuguese navigator Magellan? Maybe if the learning takes place in a movie theater, and he’s being played by Gael García Bernal. There’s also a new ‘70s-inspired crime thriller from Gus Van Sant to consider.

TO TRY If you’re trying to be more intentional about what you put on your skin in 2026, Fleur & Bee is a great place to start. Their skincare is 100 percent vegan, cruelty-free, and made with organic botanical ingredients, with clean formulas that actually feel effective. Shop now and save 50 percent during their New Year sale (ends 01/24/26). #partner

TO LISTEN We never read Wuthering Heights growing up, but in anticipation of the forthcoming film, we decided we needed to. We found this award-winning audio version, voiced by Joanne Froggatt of Downton Abbey fame, and are really enjoying it. 

TO COOK The extra step of soaking and then blending the dried peppers in this chicken tortilla soup results in the most delicious, restaurant-level meal. Top is with avocado, tortilla chips, cheese, hot sauce, a squeeze of lime, you name it..

TO SHOP Cottagecore is going mainstream this year, and Ruggable’s Kindred Cottage collection makes it easy to bring the look home. There are pretty florals and other cozy patterns, and it’s all fully washable. See the styles here. #partner

TO STREAM The extremely popular Emily Henry romance novel, People We Meet On Vacation, is now a Netflix film. Plus, the well-reviewed secret agent show The Night Agent is back for a second season.

Reflections on a kid-free holiday post-divorce. • “Welcome to the era of 65-year-old roommates.” • This is fashion-world inside baseball, but it’s still exciting news. • LOL at this list of what blew up in parent group chats, particularly when we got to “good old lice.” • Seems like there’s a real problem brewing with Elon’s gross AI, but will anyone do anything about it?

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